Michigan

Cuban trumpeter still stretching

There are artists who have suffered for their music - and then there is Arturo Sandoval, who has endured more hardships in pursuit of jazz than most.

Born in Havana, Cuba, in 1949, Sandoval came of age playing classical trumpet in the early days of the Castro government, even though the "academy" where he was studying lacked the proper textbooks to teach music theory or technique.

But, according to Sandoval - who performs with his band at the Power Center on Friday as part of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival - any music was better than no music, so he continued working at his craft. Then, while serving in the Cuban army during the 1960s, he heard the sounds of American jazz coming over a Voice of America signal on a barracks radio.

He was hooked and, after his military service ended, Sandoval took the basic skills he had and formed the band Irakere, beginning a lifelong pursuit of jazz and kicking off a nearly two-decade-long struggle with the Cuban government over the nature of the music he played.

"Almost as soon as we started, we got into some serious problems with the Ministry of Culture," he recalled in a recent interview. "The bottom line was we wanted to play bebop, and had to find a way to mask it.

"You know, they removed the cymbals from our drum kits, so we traded the cymbals for cowbells and other Afro-Cuban instruments. We experimented with Afro-Cuban, but at the bottom, we were playing bebop, though it was disguised. They weren't smart enough to figure it out. They believed it was brand new, experimental Cuban music."

Yet the struggles continued, even as Sandoval began to make a name for himself thanks to his warm tone and inventive phrasing.

Along the way, Sandoval came to the attention of bebop pioneer Dizzy Gillespie, who, decades earlier, had pioneered the fusion of jazz and Afro-Cuban music. The two became fast friends after Sandoval was hired as a driver for a tour Gillespie did in Cuba in 1977.

"That was the beginning of a beautiful, beautiful friendship," Sandoval said. "I loved him so much and I miss him so much, you wouldn't believe it.

"He gave me all sorts of opportunities, and right from when we met he encouraged me to continue. He came back to New York and began telling people about Irakere, including people at CBS Records."

With Gillespie's sponsorship, Sandoval was able to tour outside of Cuba for the first time, yet even as his profile in jazz circles began to rise, Cuban officials kept a tight rein on his activities.

Despite a handful of opportunities to defect, Sandoval was unwilling to leave his wife and children behind in Cuba.

Finally, in 1990, Sandoval arrived in Rome with his family for a tour, only to head straight for the U.S. Embassy, where he applied for asylum.

This time, his driver was none other than Gillespie himself. (Sandoval's long struggle to leave Cuba is documented in the 1994 HBO movie "For Love of Country," with Andy Garcia portraying the trumpeter.)

Since that time, Sandoval has resided in Florida, undertaking an ambitious recording schedule - including a record of solo piano pieces, and has recorded with a who's who of popular music and jazz giants from Gillespie to Stan Getz to Celine Dion and Paul Anka, while winning four Grammy Awards and opening and operating his own jazz club in Miami.

But, just as in Cuba, Sandoval continues to seek out new sounds, always pressing forward, while keeping one foot firmly planted in the afro-jazz he pioneered in his home country.

"In music it doesn't matter what you did the day before - no one cares," he said. "What matters is what you're going to do tonight.

"Don't rest on your laurels, especially with an instrument like the trumpet - it's an instrument that is merciless. You have to go for it every day."